Secretary of Veterans Affairs

The department was brought into the cabinet by legislation signed by Ronald Reagan in 1988, but the first Secretary was appointed by George H. W. Bush in May 1989.[1] That first incumbent was Edward Derwinski, who was head of the department's predecessor, the Veterans Administration. The most recent Secretary was Retired U.S. Army General Eric Shinseki, who was appointed by President Barack Hussein Obama on January 21, 2009. He is the seventh holder of the post.[2]

As Veterans Affairs is the second most recently created department, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is 17th in the line of succession to the presidency, and only the Secretary of Homeland Security comes later.[3]